Analyzing the New OL

[MHS831]

31st ranked OL in 2021: CAROLINA PANTHERS

LT Cam Erving | 56.0
LG Michael Jordan | 50.8
C/G Pat Elflien 50.1
RG John Miller | 52.1
RT Taylor Moton | 77.8

Carolina’s offensive line was always going to become an issue given the players they prioritized to acquire in the offseason. Taylor Moton earned a 77.8 PFF grade and was one of the better right tackles in the NFL, but he was the only one of 11 linemen to end with a grade above 67.0. John Miller and Michael Jordan, who played just 21 games combined, allowed 13 sacks from their guard spots, and three different linemen earned PFF pass-blocking grades lower than 40.0. This offensive line performance was a true case of reaping what you sow.---PFF

FWIW, Brady Christensen had a rough start and strong finish at T, but his overall PFF score was 61.6--better than 60% of the 2021 starters.  Here is what the new acquisitions look like, using PFF scores to gauge:

• Brady Christensen 61.6 (this does not reflect the growth in 2021; BC ended the season with positive momentum)
• Bradley Bozeman  73.3  (as center, excellent on double-team blocks)
• Austin Corbett  68.8 (in a pass-happy offense in LA--more runs would increase rating because he is excellent at reaching second level)
• Taylor Moton 77.8
• Ickey Ekwonu N/A (Best run-blocking LT in college football)

Three new linemen, all good to excellent run blocking. Expect improvement from BC from his rookie year, and expect Corbett's effectiveness to increase in a run-first offense.

We added D. Foreman as a big RB, CMC should be healthy (and better protected),  And expect Tremble to be more active in the run game as a blocker. 

We had a chance to take the best pass blocking OT in the draft, the most versatile OT in the draft, or the best run blocking OT--we chose the best run-blocker.

So if you read the tea leaves, we are going to run the football more. 

We added D'Onta Foreman, a big bruising back.  CMC returns with more support.  We kept Thomas (a good blocking TE) and Tremble (a great blocking TE) will be a year older.

It makes sense.  We have a raw rookie and a bust at QB who throws a lot of pics.  putting the ball in CMC's hands and taking it from the QB is smart.  If the D plays well, we should stay in games.

 

 

 

[MillionDollarCam]

Brady ended the year at LT and had an average grade of 73 over the last three games of the season.

It’s not totally out of the equation for the Panthers to have an OL where all the players have a grade of 70 or higher.

[Jackie Lee]

22 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

31st ranked OL in 2021: CAROLINA PANTHERS

LT Cam Erving | 56.0
LG Michael Jordan | 50.8
C/G Pat Elflien 50.1
RG John Miller | 52.1
RT Taylor Moton | 77.8

Carolina’s offensive line was always going to become an issue given the players they prioritized to acquire in the offseason. Taylor Moton earned a 77.8 PFF grade and was one of the better right tackles in the NFL, but he was the only one of 11 linemen to end with a grade above 67.0. John Miller and Michael Jordan, who played just 21 games combined, allowed 13 sacks from their guard spots, and three different linemen earned PFF pass-blocking grades lower than 40.0. This offensive line performance was a true case of reaping what you sow.---PFF

FWIW, Brady Christensen had a rough start and strong finish at T, but his overall PFF score was 61.6--better than 60% of the 2021 starters.  Here is what the new acquisitions look like, using PFF scores to gauge:

• Brady Christensen 61.6 (this does not reflect the growth in 2021; BC ended the season with positive momentum)
• Bradley Bozeman  73.3  (as center, excellent on double-team blocks)
• Austin Corbett  68.8 (in a pass-happy offense in LA--more runs would increase rating because he is excellent at reaching second level)
• Taylor Moton 77.8
• Ickey Ekwonu N/A (Best run-blocking LT in college football)

Three new linemen, all good to excellent run blocking. Expect improvement from BC from his rookie year, and expect Corbett's effectiveness to increase in a run-first offense.

We added D. Foreman as a big RB, CMC should be healthy (and better protected),  And expect Tremble to be more active in the run game as a blocker. 

We had a chance to take the best pass blocking OT in the draft, the most versatile OT in the draft, or the best run blocking OT--we chose the best run-blocker.

So if you read the tea leaves, we are going to run the football more. 

We added D'Onta Foreman, a big bruising back.  CMC returns with more support.  We kept Thomas (a good blocking TE) and Tremble (a great blocking TE) will be a year older.

It makes sense.  We have a raw rookie and a bust at QB who throws a lot of pics.  putting the ball in CMC's hands and taking it from the QB is smart.  If the D plays well, we should stay in games.

 

 

 

If Rhule can't win with this roster by week 5 he's gone. Give Tomlin this team and they're in the playoffs no matter how average the QB is

[Jackie Lee]

Ekwonu was 93.8 in run and 78.3 in pass last year according to PNP

[Aussie Tank]

With bulk play action I’d be happy to model our game more on the Titans 

[Ivan The Awesome]

6 hours ago, MHS831 said:

31st ranked OL in 2021: CAROLINA PANTHERS

LT Cam Erving | 56.0
LG Michael Jordan | 50.8
C/G Pat Elflien 50.1
RG John Miller | 52.1
RT Taylor Moton | 77.8

 

• Brady Christensen 61.6 (this does not reflect the growth in 2021; BC ended the season with positive momentum)
• Bradley Bozeman  73.3  (as center, excellent on double-team blocks)
• Austin Corbett  68.8 (in a pass-happy offense in LA--more runs would increase rating because he is excellent at reaching second level)
• Taylor Moton 77.8
• Ickey Ekwonu N/A (Best run-blocking LT in college football)

 

 

 

 

Crazy how the highest graded linemen we'll have going into the season is actually a linemen that has been here the longest. 

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, Ivan The Awesome said:

 

Crazy how the highest graded linemen we'll have going into the season is actually a linemen that has been here the longest. 

Our evaluations of FA linemen going into last season was terrible, as in "Get me new scouts" terrible. 

[musicman]

What's cool is moving Brady to LG leaves him as the best option to back up Icky at LT. That's not bad. Just need another swing T as the 2nd back up. 

[hepcat]

Too bad it’s not 20 years ago, this team would make waves! Running teams don’t win Superbowls anymore.

[bythenbrs]

7 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Too bad it’s not 20 years ago, this team would make waves! Running teams don’t win Superbowls anymore.

Yes, but they win games.  Lots of them, if you execute well.  Baby steps.

[frankw]

Don't forget Paradis. Even Elflein was an improvement when MP went down. No hard feelings and good luck to him but other than LT getting an upgrade at Center from the equivalent of a tackling dummy was crucial. I think we draft one next year and lock up our long term answer. Overall on paper we feel much better. But just as we have over many offseasons take caution until we see it in live action.

[Khyber53]

52 minutes ago, bythenbrs said:

Yes, but they win games.  Lots of them, if you execute well.  Baby steps.

They require stout defenses, too. It's all about time of possession and ball control if you're a running team.

We've got our work cut out for us on this. We're going to have to field an NFL- level defense, not something cribbed from college ranks or from the 1973 semi-pro Canton Steamrollers. 

[Snake]

With Ekwonu run blocking ability I don't see why he doesn't start at RT to begin with. Moton can play LT and his experience gives him a bigger edge playing that difficult position. Next year though I would expect roles to reverse. 

[KatsAzz]

The Panthers have a good current OL penciled  in and will only get better once Ickey Ekwonu gets some playing time gaining him some experience.   

This is the most excited i have been about the OL at the start of a season in many years.